Crafting & Cooking In The Everyday Blessings Of Life

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Monthly Archives: December 2013

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I saw a story a little while ago and thought it was so perfect for this time of year. It is such a cool reminder to me to bless other people during this season. The article was about a woman whose wallet got stolen while she was grocery shopping. She saw the man she thought had taken it and went up to him:

‘”As I saw him, a scripture came to me from Luke, which basically says ‘If someone should take your cloak, you should give them your shirt as well,” she told The Huffington Post.

The passage inspired her next actions, as she approached the man and calmly said, “I think you have something of mine. I’m gonna give you a choice. You can either give me my wallet and I’ll forgive you right now, and I’ll even take you to the front and pay for your groceries,” or she would call the police, according to Yahoo! Shine.

“He reached in his pocket and gave it back to me,” she told HuffPost, adding that “he started crying as we walked to the front. He kept apologizing and saying that he was embarrassed.”

Eaves, a mother of four and leader of the Christian outreach team at the First Christian Church in Guthrie, responded that she makes mistakes every day and has just as much to be embarrassed about, as she believes that in the eyes of Jesus, no one sin is greater than another.

…”I never carry cash. When I got to the check-out counter that day his (robber’s) total was just a little over $27 and I had $28 in cash in my wallet. And so I knew in that moment it wasn’t me. It was Christ that played in that moment,” she told Christian Post.’

It’s so cool to see how far kindness and overlooking offenses can go. I don’t know about you but I sure wish I would respond this way in all situations. Last time Tom stole a bite off my plate, I assure you my response was not to give him another 😉

Snow Globes

It’s not too late to make some fun holiday decorations before your whole family comes over! Fortunately, these are super easy and the possibilities are limitless.

The nice thing about these is that there is no wrong way to decorate them. There are a few steps you have to follow below for the functionality of the snow globes, but other than that, let your imagination soar (dumb phrase).

Step 1: Stick your figures/items in the jar to make sure they fit.

Step 2: Hot glue you figures to the bottom of the jar, or to the underside of the jar lid. If you are gluing to the underside of the lid, use a pair of scissors to scrap the “rubbery” surface off the lid in the place you will glue. That way the glue will have a solid grip.

Step 3: Add distilled water to the jar, leaving about an inch from the top. If you are gluing to the lid, make sure you leave room for the water to be displaced from the items once you attach the lid.

Step 4: Drop a few drops of the glycerin into the jar. I used about 4-5 drops for the small mason jars, and doubled that for the large mason jars. This makes it so that your snow will lightly fall, instead of all just sinking right away.

Step 5: Fill the rest of the jar with snow. Pour a little water over the top of the snow to make sure your jar is all the way full. Put on the lid really tightly. And shake up!

Step 6: Decorate!! I’ve added a bunch of pictures and brief descriptions below of the snow globes I made. Feel free to use any of those ideas or go in your own direction!

My Snow Globe #1: Little mailman and small tree glued to the bottom of the jar. I strung different sized silver bells around the lid and hot glued the ends on. I tied a chalkboard gift tag to the lid and wrote “To: You From: Santa”- using a white poster pen I drew a snowflake on the top of the lid.

My Snow Globe 2: I glued 3 different colored and sized trees to the bottom of this large mason jar. I cut out a circle chunk of sparkly silver ribbon and lightly hot glued it on to the top of the jar lid. I then tied a large bow around the rim of the lid with sparkly green and white striped ribbon. Are you sensing a theme? A glitter or sparkly theme? Glitter is my favorite color………!

My Snow Globe #3: This one was the most complex, but the fun thing about this one is that it’s not specific to any holiday, you could make some like these to just leave out all year.

For this one I strung on wire a bunch of random objects, including a key, button, bead, pearl, bell, flower gem and a paper clip. I scraped off the rubber surface on the underside of the lid and hot glued the ends of the wire to it. If you are using some of the items I used (paper clip, wire, bell, safety pin), be sure to cover the items with a sealant so that they don’t rust or peel in the water. I had that problem and had to switch out the water and snow. I’m going to go ahead and just recommend using twine instead of wire either way. I wrapped a few pieces of washi tape around the outside of the jar, and added strips of it to the lid as well. I wrapped a piece of twine around the rim of the lid and glued a few silver bells on. I also glued on a piece of wire around the lid and tied it in a little bow behind the bells.

Whew, can you believe all the sad things that have been happening recently?? I still am so shocked about the shooting at Arapahoe High School. I hope everyone is still praying for Claire Davis and her family!

This seemed like an opportune time to say thank you to all the officers and law enforcement teams that our nation is blessed with! Have you ever thought about how lucky we are that when we are in an emergency, that we can pick up the phone and call for help, and a total stranger will show up to help us, no matter what the circumstances or how dangerous?? They would actually risk their lives for yours, and they don’t even know you. It gives me goosebumps thinking about what a blessing that is. I will spare you the soap box speech I gave to my friend the other day at 6 am (I’m sure he was thrilled) but it always surprises me that people “don’t like cops,” especially for things like giving out speeding tickets. How rude for the law enforcers to give you a ticket for breaking the law. Don’t get me wrong, I hate getting tickets like anybody else, but if I’m speeding then I hardly think it’s rational to blame a cop for my speeding ticket. That’s obviously just a simple example, but I’m so thankful that we have laws and that we have people to enforce them. I am very thrilled to know that while I might like speeding sometimes, I don’t have to worry about everyone flying down the highway at 150mph, or someone breaking into my house with no option for help. How lucky that when there is, say, a school shooting, that there are 1000’s of men and women who respond immediately and rush into the school to protect the kiddos.

Some of us go to work and do paperwork from behind a desk, and that’s fantastic because every job is important for different reasons. But some people go into work and risk their life, and they don’t even come close to receiving the appreciation, respect and gratitude that they deserve. Next time you have the opportunity, I definitely encourage you to say thank you to them. We are so very fortunate to have them!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much to all the men and women in law enforcement out there, you’re a blessing!!

Reindeer Frame

My mom loves reindeer so I was trying to think of a way to get her something for the house that was reindeer-esque but something she hadn’t seen before. And this idea popped into my head. Don’t worry, I already gave it to her so this isn’t spoiling anything. 🙂 After all, she has to be able to put it up for Christmas!!

What you need:

Frame

2 Branches

Floral wire

Bow

Dangling doorknob bells (or bells that you attach ribbon to)

Glue gun

Duct tape

Photo(s)

Instructables:

Step 1: Insert the pictures that you are going to use. I chose to use reindeer pictures, but you could use winter pictures or Christmas pictures. You will still be able to swap them in and out, but it’s easiest if you put the ones you want right now in. By the way, you don’t have to get a 4 slot photo frame, any one will work. I got that one at Walmart for less than $10.

Step 2: Glue the center of the bow on the center of the frame at the bottom.

Step 3: Using floral wire hang the dangling doorknob bells from two latches on the back. Make sure the latches are pointed upward so the wire has no chance of sliding off. I set mine so that half of the loop was behind the frame and half was showing, with all the bells dangling down. I got my doorknob bells at the Dollar Tree. Guess how much they were? 😉

Step 4: Using floral wire again, layer it up several times so it’s nice and thick, and create a little loop on the hook where you would hang the frame. Depending on the type of hook your frame comes with, or if you want to attach a different one, you can decide what to do; but the purpose of the floral wire loop is so your frame will stay hanging on the wall hook while it is a little further from the wall, since the branches will be glued on the back pushing it outward a little bit. Tip: keep the part you twist on the bottom on the loop so that when the top is hanging on the wall, it’s not as noticeable.

Step 5: Line up the two branches, one on each side of the back. Add a huge glob of glue from the glue gun and hold branch in place til it dries. Try to find branches that don’t bench “backward” into the wall. Also, you can cut the bottom of the branches before you glue them so they line up with the bottom of the “frame beam,” but I just left mine long because I can still get the pictures in and out.

Step 6: After they are dry, cut a thin piece of duct tape and tightly tape it horizontally across the branch on the “frame beam” for extra support. Be sure you don’t tape below the frame beam because you still want to be able to swap the pictures in and out if you choose.

How’s everyone?? I could hardly wait to show you a couple photos from one of the best parts of our trip to Chicago (especially since wedding photos of our dear friends aren’t up yet)! On our last night out there we went to dinner at the most amazing restaurant: The Signature Room at the John Hancock Observatory….on the 95th floor!! It was so spectacular I never wanted to leave! We sat right by the window and just stared outside all dinner long…long enough that I started to think I was accidentally going to fall out somehow. As you might’ve guessed, I didn’t. I imagine customers falling out the windows would be bad for business.

On a side note, we had a third Thanksgiving dinner last night. I don’t know why, but I’m definitely not complaining 😀

Step 1: On medium, add the artichoke hearts to a small pot/pan, with some of the juice to cover the bottom. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and stir. Once they start to get browned, add the spinach to the pot/pan, cover for 1-2 min and remove from heat. Set pan aside.

Step 2: Add the spinach and artichoke hearts (scoop out the hearts, don’t add juice) to a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add the cream cheese and mozzarella cheese to the bowl. Use two knives to cut ingredients into small remnants.

Step 3: Add turkey slices to one slice of the bread and spread the mixture over the turkey. Add the top piece of bread. Get the pan you just used for the artichokes and spinach, and make sure you pour out any remaining liquid. Add a little non-stick spray, or butter, and on medium-medium low heat, place your sandwich in the pan.

Step 4: Leave for a few minutes on each side. Use a spatula to check underneath, you want it to be a golden brown.